In 1980, Thorvie International revealed their newly engineered AV-40 saw and tool sharpening system. The new design made it possible to precision sharpen many cutting tools more efficiently than most sharpening machines. It provides the AV-40 machine the ability to be a professional lawn mower blade sharpener, a router bit sharpener, a raised panel sharpener, also it will sharpen jointer planer knives and much more with the same machine as the saw blade sharpener, simply through the use of attachable tool fixtures. This new design eliminates shop space needed plus added costs of purchasing multiple machines to sharpen all the tool necessary to successfully operate your sharpening service center.

“Most sharpeners will use a bench grinder to sharpen a lawn mower blade. The Thorvie lawn mower fixture will grind the cutting edge consistent and straight, resulting in a smooth cutting blade,” states sales manager Rick Shefchik.
The Thorvie International lawn mower blade sharpening tool fixture, has the ability to sharpen both straight and mulching lawn mower blades. This tool fixture will sharpen with the same quality and is just as fast as an expensive blade grinder, with a fraction of the cost.

For more information on lawn mower blade sharpening or Thorvie sharpening machines, contact Thorvie International at 866-497-0572 or e-mail: sales@throvie.com.

Rick’s Tip
Properly balancing a lawn mower blade is one of the most important steps when sharpening these blades. When lawn mower blades are not balanced they wobble as they rotate at high RPM’s, damaging the mower deck bearings. Hanging the blade on a nail in the wall to balance it is not as accurate as using a blade balancer. If you’re using a nail and the center arbor hole is not positioned perfectly on the nail, you will receive false results. Lawn mower balancers will usually be a smooth tapered cone, or have different sized arbor hole steps. A balancer will provide more accurate results ensuring that blade will function properly. Lawn mower balancers can range from $5.00 to $100.00. Usually the less expensive plastic balancer will work just as well as an expensive metal one, when used correctly.

When I balance a lawn mower blade, I do not remove more material from the cutting surface of that blade. For starters it takes a lot of extra sharpening time, and it also removes extra material from the grinding wheel. I remove material from the end, not touching the cutting edge, using a bench grinder or belt sander. The blade has the most weight at the very end, allowing you to remove the least amount of material. Also by doing this, it extends the amount of times you can sharpen that lawn mower blade.